


The Phone Call

by Zodiac



Category: Welcome to Night Vale
Genre: Angst, Basically I wanted brutal angst so I wrote it, Drabbles, In which Cecil and Carlos have a phone argument over the phone, M/M, Post episode 60/Water Failure
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-15
Updated: 2015-01-15
Packaged: 2018-03-07 16:46:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 930
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3177281
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zodiac/pseuds/Zodiac
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After hearing Cecil have so many near-death experiences, Carlos decides enough is enough and confronts him about putting his well-being before his job.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Phone Call

"Cecil, we need to talk."

It was one of those sentences that no one ever wanted to hear from anyone else, one of those sentences that people perked up and focused on upon hearing in movies or TV shows, but instantly shrunk and cowered if it was directed towards them in real life.

Cecil Palmer just barely managed not to do the latter set of actions.

"...About what, Carlos?" He asked innocently, adjusting his cell phone from where it was smushed between his shoulder and ear. "I already told you that I'd  _try_  to get vacation days to go see you whenever you manage to find another old oak door, but Station Management is as fickle as ever when it comes to that."

"No, Cecil, babe, it's not about the vacation days. It's about..." A heavy sigh on the other end of the line. Cecil could practically hear Carlos rubbing his greying temples as he always did when exasperated. "Well, I mean, Cecil, I'm concerned about your well-being. Incredibly concerned, in fact."

The radio host blinked, sitting up a bit straighter on his bed, attention now fully on Carlos' words. "And why is that? Sure, having to talk—or communicate, rather—with Station Management is a concerning prospect when it comes to anyone, but I do it at least once a year; I'm used to it by now."

Another sigh. "It's not about Station Management. It's about your work ethic itself. You know that I've been keeping up with your show through that nifty app you showed me. You know, the one that demanded I prick my finger and press the wound against my touchscreen to make a blood payment before it would install? Yeah, anyway, I heard your show today and there was that whole... thing with the carbon monoxide and all... Cecil, when I heard your voice slurring and slowing down a-and then when," A thick gulp, "your head thunked down against your desk, I just wanted to call in, to make sure you were alright. But you were on hold with that lady for the water and I-I couldn't. I couldn't make sure you were alright, no matter how badly I wanted to."

Guiltily, he bowed his head down to look at his hands, nervously twiddling his thumbs. "...Carlos..."

"And it wasn't just today that worries me! There was that time when you kept reporting when there were clouds of tear gas all around you! That could have blinded you or done even worse damage to you!" There was a pause, during which Cecil silently listened to his boyfriend take a few shaky breaths as he composed himself. "Since I left, you've been throwing yourself into your work with no regard to your own well-being. A passion for your work is something I can say, from a scientific standpoint, is perfectly fine, but you are taking it to worrying levels, Cecil. If you end up... dying out there reporting on something, then who's going to take your place?! How are you going to come on a vacation here with me if you end up dead?!"

His hands stilled, unshed tears threatening to spill over the borders of his eyes with every blink. "...Carlos, I..."

"...I really wish you would actually put your own well-being in front of your job for once."

At that comment, his watery eyes widened before narrowing down to slits, lips creasing into a deep frown. Before his brain could stop it, his trained mouth spat out a comment he knew there was no going back from. "...Because that's what you do all the time."

"Cecil, what are you—"

Unbidden, his mouth continued hurling out everything that he was keeping cooped up to himself these past few months, all without any niceness or polish he would have used had he been given time to think about his wording. "That's precisely why you forget and forgo meals when you're working on an interesting experiment! That's exactly why you lose track of time and end up forgetting about meetings and  _dates_  when you're working until you fall asleep on your desk or lab table! That's why you went into that damn door in the first place, because you cared so very much about your well-being to hurl yourself into a place that you knew next-to-nothing about and that you knew you could have gotten  _trapped_  in! Yes, as a scientist, you know  _aaall_ about putting your well-being before your job!"

"Cecil, I—"

Before he could hear the rest of what Carlos had to say, Cecil hung up on him, throwing his phone onto the mattress. Flopping down beside it, he drew in deep, shivering breaths in an attempt to drop his increased breathing rate down to anywhere near normal levels. As he stared up at the ceiling, speckled with glow-in-the-dark stars and planets that he and Carlos had put up before he left, regret bubbled up tar-like within him. There was regret for all the things said and all the things left unsaid. Both were equally justified and, to him, both were equally unwelcome.

Then, as those emotions began to ooze and infect his rational mind, the phone next to him buzzed not dissimilar to a bee, moving just slightly as it vibrated. Turning his head, Cecil picked it up, seeing the phrase, "You have 1 new text message" brighten up the screen. Frowning slightly, he let it fall back onto the bed, deciding that that could wait until tomorrow morning.

He didn't trust his fingers any more than his mouth so soon after an argument.

**Author's Note:**

> If you enjoyed this and wanted to screech at me in a manner similar to socializing, then you can find my Tumblr right [here](http://catsandcomposers.tumblr.com/).


End file.
